Outdoor Retailer Winter 2010 – Other Fun Stuff

Aside from the really cool things we saw, there were other new and noteworthy items we got to check out from a variety of companies.

Petzl

The Ange is a new, lightweight carabiner with a very unique gate. Instead the standard wire, it’s more of a single bar with a keylock head, and the spring is in the body of the ‘biner, which is supposed to give it a longer life span. The small version is 28g and the large is 34g. You can also get them in new lightweight quickdraws, but don’t worry, the big fat Spirit draws we love to grab clip aren’t going anywhere.

The ice tools all saw some upgrades, and the return of an old favorite. The biggest change is that all the tools can now use a hammer, thanks to a redesign of the pick. The Nomics saw several small but functional changes, and the new hammers can be retro fitted to current Nomics as well. The Quark went on a diet and lost 15% of it’s weight, but gained several customizable options, making it an ideal do-it-all tool. You can move the grips, add weights, or strip it down to virtually nothing. And the tool that started it all, the Ergo, comes back as a mixed machine, with adjustable grips and an aggressive shape for steep rock and ice.

We already talked about how awesome the new rechargeable headlamp batteries are.

Black Diamond

Aside from the offset Stoppers, they have a new super light harness, the Couloir, and some beautiful stainless steel crampons. These are supposed to be longer lasting, which is always nice when you are on a budget. The Fusion also got a redesign, and is said to have a better swing for pure ice, something the previous version sorely lacked.

La Sportiva

Relatively quiet at La Sportiva for pure climbing, but they do have a new women’s Muira Slipper coming out Fall 2010. It uses the Grip2 rubber and features an aggressively downturned toe. We’ll have to see if we can get our lady testers into some of these.

Cloudveil

While definitely more of a ski focus here, they do have a new climbing soft shell coming out called the Stettner, which uses the c_change fabric that opens up when you get hot and contracts when you cool down to keep your temperature perfectly balanced. Makes you wonder how long will it be before your clothes are smarter than you…

Five Ten

These guys had four snazzy shoes they were promoting at the show, two slippers and two lace ups. On the slipper front are the high end Team, and the Rogue, a shoe intended for intermediate climbers looking to take their game to the next level. In the lace ups are the reincarnated Newtons, and the Grandstone, a high top trad shoe which looks to be a competitor to the La Sportiva TC Pro. The old Newtons were a favorite of edging enthusiasts, and the new model promises to improve upon that high standard. They’ve also got some nice looking climbing jeans, which is our pant style of choice for desert climbing.

Osprey

Of note for traveling climbers is the Shuttle, a 110L cargo style pack with rugged wheels suitable for rolling down dirt roads in search of climbing in distant lands. Also the Raptor series launches this month, we tested a prototype during the fall and it makes a great multipitch climbing pack.

Metolius

A couple new things here, including some stylie new chalk bags, a beefier Colossus crash pad, some hand repair balm, and colors for the full strength mini carabiners. Amazing for such a small company how they continually crank out cool new stuff.

Princeton Tec

This was our first visit with these headlamp folks, and we got to check out the Remix. It’s a simple design, with high and low settings on both the white and red LED. Also, you can get the LED in green if that’s more your thing.

Rab

These guys continue to impress with super functional gear. Hopefully some of the other big clothing companies out there are taking note, you can actually give core users what they want, not a bunch of watered down lifestyle crap. But back to Rab, aside from the super cool Infinity Jacket we already covered, there is the Bugaboo, a 12 oz synthetic jacket that gives the Patagonia Nano Puff some competition. And then there is the new Vaporize, a soft shell which supposedly breathes like a baselayer. Looks great for alpine climbing, backcountry skiing, anything where you’ll be moving non stop for long periods of time in questionable weather.

Scarpa

Several new offerings here, the Vapor Series standing out with a focus on performance edging. With three models to choose from, slipper, velcro and lace up, and new rubber, these are sure to be popular. Also, their mountain boots received some upgrades which give them 30% more shock absorption, while lightening the load.

Liberty

The big news here is the return of Grivel, and they have a pretty unique product in the speedy ice screws, which come with a quickdraw preattached. Seems like a cool idea, though I have to wonder if all that stuff swinging around while you screw it in gets in the way. Edelweiss has 120m 8.3mm rope, designed to be used as a double rope, but then you don’t have to tie two ropes together when you want to rap. Seems like a good idea, though a very niche market. The Cypher Mydas is another super light biner, coming in at 24 grams, and they say it’s the lightest on the market currently.

A big thanks to all the companies that took the time to meet with us, see you next summer!